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Welcome to the weekend, where news is not really news and idle speculation rules How To Split An Atom. Once again, we are wandering down the rabbit hole and taking a look at how the world will be changed by what I loosely call Web 3.0. In today’s edition, we look at Media. Specifically, how we will get our daily dose of entertainment in the new web.

Web 3.0

Before we start, as always let me define what Web 3.0 is. The short version, which is hopefully not pilfered by O’Rielly is –

Definition: Highly specialized information silos, moderated by a cult of personality, validated by the community, and put into context with the inclusion of meta-data through widgets.

Now, lets take a look at the future of media in these terms.

YouTube TV

As it stands, people are watching less TV because of services like YouTube. As people have less time to sit in front of a set-top box and spend more time sitting in front of their computer screens greater shifts seem almost inevitable. This paradigm shift notwithstanding no matter what direction our society moves, we are always looking for entertainment. Systems like YouTube and now Joost will become more popular as they allow us to take that entertainment in small, manageable chucks and then get back to work.

Actively Entertained

The future of the web will provide us with more dense media. Instead of passive entertainment (which will still have its place), Web 3.0 will see the introduction of Active Media. The next time you are watching reruns of Buffy the Vampire Slayer you might be presented with a side-panel containing other, similar programs.

You’ll have a social network available to you of others who are watching the episode at the same time. You’ll be able to find programs with similar actors, similar styles, similar lengths or maybe something as obscure as similar music scores. You’ll have statistical information available to you like the highest rated episodes and you’ll be able to interact with your media, voting on your favorite everything.

For those who prefer to let themselves be entertained, then software agents will keep track of what you have been watching and push programs to you that you should like as a result. The point is that we will watch media along a spectrum from the familiar passive entertainment that we are used to, to a rich media experience combining every aspect of social networking with media.

The newest version of YouTube takes a stab at adding social networking elements to online video, and Pandora — everyone’s favorite digital radio station — allows you to create a playlist of music that you will enjoy based on an initial selection.

Set Top Boost

What will you do with your Plasma Screen and HD-DVD set top boxes in Web 3.0? No fear, they will be as important a part of your life as always. Companies like Joost are taking the first step to move digital content to the set-top box as they attempt to make deals with hardware manufacturers. In this future, all digital content will available alongside traditional mass media. You’ll be able to see watch Lost and Ask A Ninja one after another, and use all the features of a DVR to remix them to your heart’s content.

Traditional “channels” will still be available, but the majority of entertainment from television connoisseurs will come in the form of “playlists”. Tell your television what you want to see, and it will scour the Media Web for content that you will like based on your preferences and the preferences of those with similar entertainment tastes. All of this will be presented in HD quality.

This isn’t that far off, already systems like TiVo can keep track of your preferences and record content that it believes you will enjoy. This just takes that, adds social networking elements from systems like YouTube and embeds them into your set-top.

Related Companies: YouTube, Pandora, Joost

Season One BETA

The way television programs are produced will be the next big change in media. Take a look at any of the major networks, so much money is spent creating pilots and so many advertiser dollars are wasted when those pilots tank. Unfortunately, some of those shows later become incredibly popular to niche markets. A prime example is Firefly, which failed on its initial run on Fox, but is now one of the more popular Sci-Fri television programs to date.

A way to correct this in the Web 3.0 landscape is by making every new show a BETA. The networks can film the pilots, present them online and then allow the public to decide which should be given a traditional media run. The winners end up on television, the losers finish their one season runs online, where they have a chance to redeem themselves if it turns out that initial impressions failed to take something into account.

Current.tv currently does this on a small scale, allowing users to submit content which if sufficiently popular ends up being broadcast on their television network. The real power of Web 3.0 will come into effect when program managers give over some of their power to the consumer and every television program is vetted by the public.

Taken one step further, the public will be able to rate whether they believe a show is too long or too short, whether they like particular actors and what changes should be made to make the programs better. Since the feedback loop is so tight, corrections could be made from episode to episode. Of course, these changes would have to be within reason and at the end of the day, the program managers will always have the final say. Consider it a massive suggestion box rather than fully democratized television.

Related Companies: Current.tv

You TV

The biggest change to come out of Web 3.0 will be the lifestream. I define a lifestream as a media stream (podcast, video, blog) by you and about your life. As the barriers to entry for creating decent quality digital video become lower, and companies spring up that allow you to aggregate this video more easily, more and more people will see this as a way to communicate with the world around them.

Take a look at PBS (Public Access Television) and imagine if there was a system that would allow you to use the soapbox that it provides without the strong barriers to entry that currently limits it.

Bloggers, some of whom currently run podcasts will start recording themselves and presenting it for public consumption (Chris Pirillo is a fine example). New television personalities will be created as this content migrates to the set-top and is picked up as “related content” through the social network. Your average person with a good idea will be able to become a wildly popular media star from the comfort of his or her basement. Advertisers will sponsor the most popular of these programs, and well liked new media stars will spin off programs and form ad hoc “channels” around their content.

YouTube currently does something similar to this with their “channels”, Justin.tv is a lifestream that has spun off a sister program Justine TV, and Your Truman Show is a young company that seeks to make it easier for people to generate lifestreams and aggregate them through a social network.

Related Companies: Your Truman Show, Justin.tv, Chris Pirillo Live

Advertainment

As it stands, the line between advertising and entertainment has already blurred. In Web 3.0, this line will cease to exist. Advertising will be such that it is completely indistinguishable from entertainment. Ads will be designed to make brands memorable, and drive people to seek out more information for themselves. Viral marketing will come to the fore as advertisers attempt to tap the huge number of eyeballs that the internet offers them.

Success in the new advertising model is in the number of people that you can get to actually view your ads. Assuming that only a tiny fraction of people will ever be converted by advertising, developing extremely viral, extremely popular content will maximize the number of people available to convert.

Look forward to advertising networks on portals like YouTube and Joost, and longer advertising blocks that seem more like short films than commercials.

Monetization

I discuss advertising 3.0 in great detail in my article on it, here. The short version is that sponsoring personalities through word of mouth advertising and product placements will become more common. That, along with pre-roll and post-roll ad placements will take that place of traditional commercials. Also, advertainment will get people who would otherwise ignore these traditional advertisements to sit down a watch ad programs for entertainment value.

Related Companies: PodTech

Summary

• A further reduction in the number of people watching traditional media.
• Active entertainment through suggested playlists and voting.
• Season One of television programs displayed and vetted online.
• Lifestreams and television programs based around the lives of individuals.
• Sponsorship of lifestreamers.
• Advertising as entertainment.

Web 2.0 Roundup

Here is some required reading material to get yourself caught up on Web 3.0.

Defining Web 3.0
Enabling Technologies For Web 3.0
Blogging In Web 3.0
Advertising In Web 3.0

[Thanks to Todd Ehlar for the images]